4-Year-Old Girl Dies After SUV Slams Into Playground at Fla. Preschool: 'Unspeakable Tragedy'

Maleena Valdez.Photo: GoFundMe

A Florida girl was killed this week when a driver crashed into the playground of the preschool where she and another child were playing.

Imagination Station Learning Center and the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

Emergency personnel transported Valdez to Gulf Coast Hospital, where she later died, authorities said. DeSoto Memorial Hospital received the second child, who was listed in serious condition, according to FHP.

FHP said the driver was placed under arrest for not having a valid driver’s license and booked into the DeSoto County Jail. The crash remains under investigation.

Florida Highway Patrol

Becky Stidham, who was near the playground when the crash occurred, toldWINKthat she initially mistook the screams of children for them playing in a pool.

“Kids screaming and I said, ‘Well, it could be coming from our pool,’ but it was so many screams of so many kids and everything that I thought, well, you know, there’s no way it could be coming from the pool,” Stidham recalled.

The donation page created to help Valdez’s family pay for her funeral has raised over $6,300 as of Thursday afternoon.

RELATED VIDEO: Teacher Killed in Crash Months After Husband Died of COVID, Leaving Behind 6-Month-Old Daughter

“Maleena was so innocent and pure hearted! She still had so much life to live!” it continued, in part. “Please continue to pray for Maleenas mother Savannah, Father Miguel, sister Jazziah and the rest of the family and friends, and that justice will be served in this unspeakable tragedy.”

source: people.com